Call Number:

MSS 0648

Repository:

University of Delaware Library Special Collections

Extent:

• 3.6 linear foot (6 boxes)
• 6 oversize box

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

MSS 0648, Dale E. and Clarice Wolf papers and memorabilia, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Date:

1925-2013 (inclusive) and 1980-1993 (bulk)

Creator:

Wolf, Dale E., 1924-

Form:

correspondence, Clippings (information artifacts), Scrapbooks, Photographs, Printed ephemera, Awards, Reports, Invitations, Programs (documents), Realia, Buttons (information artifacts), Oral histories (document genres), and DVD

Abstract:

Dale E. Wolf served as lieutenant governor of Delaware (1989-1992) and briefly as governor (December 31, 1992-January 19, 1993). The Dale E. and Clarice Wolf papers and memorabilia document Wolf's military service in World War II, his early agricultural research and DuPont Company career, his political career and public service, as well as the community service of his wife, Clarice Wolf.

Former Delaware Governor Dale E. Wolf was born in 1924, in Kearney, Nebraska.

Dale E. Wolf is an alumnus of the University of Nebraska from which he received a B.S. in agricultural science. He received field artillery officer training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry Division. For bravery under fire as an artillery forward observer at the Battle of Okinawa on May 12, 1945, Wolf received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

After the war, Wolf obtained a Ph.D. in 1950 from Rutgers University, the first doctorate awarded in the field of weed science. In 1951, Wolf co-authored, with Dr. Gilbert Ahlgren and Dr. Glenn Klingman,

Principles of Weed Control .

Wolf joined the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company in 1950, advancing from research biologist to group vice president of Agricultural Products in the course of his career. His work at DuPont took him around the world, with extensive travel in Japan, China, Africa, and Russia. Wolf's professional activities included leadership roles in the National Agriculture Chemical Association, the International Agriculture Chemical Association, and the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association.

He resigned from DuPont in 1987 to accept Governor Michael N. Castle's appointment as Director of Delaware Development, where he was responsible for the state's capital budget, housing for the poor, tourism, and economic development.

Wolf was elected as the 23rd lieutenant governor of the state of Delaware in 1988, serving a four-year term with Governor Castle. As Lt. Governor, Wolf oversaw the Senate and the Pardons Board, and chaired both the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Coordinating Council and the Adult Literacy Council. In 1989 President George Bush appointed him to the U. S. Intergovernmental Policy Advisory Committee.

When then-Governor Castle was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and resigned from the governorship on December 31, 1992, Wolf was sworn in and served as Governor of Delaware until January 19, 1993. He did not seek election to a full term as governor.

In addition to professional involvements, Dale Wolf served as chairman of Daynel International in China, a consulting group assisting companies wishing to do business in China. In 1995 Wolf set up the Guangzhou office in China for the law firm of Mezzullo-McCandlish, serving as the Senior International Consultant.

Dale Wolf has served on advisory committees of the Agriculture and Hotel Management schools at the University of Delaware, as well as on the boards of Girls, Inc., the Red Cross, and Christiana Care Medical Center. He has also served as chairman of Stand Up for What's Right and Just, an organization dedicated to improving the criminal justice system in Delaware.

"University of Delaware Library acquires Dale E. and Clarice Wolf papers, memorabilia," UDaily, July 19, 2011 http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/jul/library-wolf-papers-071911.html (accessed June 20, 2012).Biographical information derived from the collection.

Dale E. Wolf served as lieutenant governor of Delaware (1989-1992) and briefly as governor (December 31, 1992-January 19, 1993). The Dale E. and Clarice Wolf papers and memorabilia document Wolf's military service in World War II, his early agricultural research and DuPont Company career, his political career and public service, as well as the community service of his wife, Clarice Wolf.

Clarice Elaine Marshall married Dale E. Wolf on December 31, 1945, in Windom, Minnesota. Mrs. Wolf was a graduate of Windom High School and attended the University of Nebraska. Immediately following college, Clarice Wolf taught third grade at the Mapleton Public School in Mapleton, Iowa.

She was acting First Lady of Delaware beginning in January 1989, as Governor Michael N. Castle was not married. Clarice Wolf, who received the Jefferson Award in 1998, has enjoyed a long record of working with children and family services. She was deeply involved with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a program serving the Family Court of Delaware; a board member of Family Services of Delaware; and a volunteer with YWCA, Children and Family First, Sojourners' Place and the Emmanuel Dining Room.

"University of Delaware Library acquires Dale E. and Clarice Wolf papers, memorabilia," UDaily, July 19, 2011 http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/jul/library-wolf-papers-071911.html (accessed June 20, 2012).Biographical information derived from the collection.

Dale E. Wolf served as lieutenant governor of Delaware (1989-1992) and briefly as governor (December 31, 1992-January 19, 1993). The Dale E. and Clarice Wolf papers and memorabilia document Wolf's military service in World War II, his early agricultural research and DuPont Company career, his political career and public service, as well as the community service of his wife, Clarice Wolf.

The collection consists of six linear feet of personal papers, including photographs, plaques, certificates, ephemera, news clippings, and memorabilia documenting Dale and Clarice Wolf's personal, professional, public, and volunteer work.

Memorabilia in the collection includes Delawareana, Governor Wolf's contribution to an oral history of World War II veterans from Delaware, material related to Dale Wolf's professional accomplishments in agrichemical research and development, and numerous citations and awards for community service and careers milestones.

Series I, Early personal and military service, consists of early photographs of Dale Wolf and his family in Kearney, Nebraska, as well as a few newspaper clippings regarding his college days at the University of Nebraska and military service. The series also includes documentation of Dale Wolf's distinguished military service during World War II, including recent interviews regarding his experiences that were recorded for an oral history project of Delaware veterans.

Series II, DuPont Company, chronicles Wolf's career, first as a research biologist and later as the group vice president of Agricultural Products at the DuPont Company. The series consists chiefly of photographs, awards, and newspaper clippings, but also includes a farewell album of remembrances compiled by his colleagues to honor him at his departure in 1987.

Series III, Delaware Development Office, 1984-1988, offers, through photographs, articles, newspaper clippings, and a few notes, a glimpse of some of the work completed by Dale Wolf as the Director of Development Office.

Series IV, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware, 1987-1992, focuses on the four years during which Wolf served the state during the administration of Governor Michael N. Castle. This period is documented through newspaper clippings, photographs, a few letters, campaign material, and some memorabilia. Seven of the scrapbooks noted in Series VIII also document events and activities from Wolf's term as lieutenant governor.

Series V, Governor of Delaware, focuses on the very brief period during which Wolf served as the governor of Delaware, December 31, 1992 - January 19, 1993. Included is material related to his inauguration, a schedule of activities, coverage of a few events, and the farewell speech delivered by Wolf on January 14, 1993. Series VIII includes one scrapbook related to Wolf's governorship.

Series VI, Political colleagues and events, consists of photographs, letters, and memorabilia that document some of the political figures and celebrities Wolf met during his career, including President George H. Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vice President Dan Quayle, Actor Charleston Heston, and former Nixon counsel Charles Colson.

Series VII, Clarice Wolf, provides a small group of material related to the personal life and community service of Clarice Wolf. Included are photographs of Mrs. Wolf with Mrs. Barbara Bush and Charleston Heston, as well as a file regarding the Jefferson Award, which she received in 1998 in recognition of her lifetime of community service.

Series VIII, Scrapbooks, consists of eight scrapbooks of photographs, letters, programs, newspaper clippings, and other items chronicling Wolf's six years in public office. The scrapbooks have been digitally reproduced and are available online through the University of Delaware Library digital collections. The original scrapbooks have been returned to the family. The series also includes folders of loose ephemeral material.

Series IX, Post-government professional and community work, provides a few documents and photographs related to Dale Wolf's life and career after he left public office in 1993. Chiefly the material chronicles Wolf's work as an international consultant for Mezzullo & McCandlish, Law Firm, in China, his work with Daynel International, and his continued volunteerism on behalf of adult literacy.

Series X, Awards and Certificates of Honor and Appreciation, recognizes the many accomplishments and contributions of Dale and Clarice Wolf across their careers. The honors and appreciations salute them for community work, such as with Sojourners Place and Children and Families First, as well as for Dale Wolf's work in crop development and his services while in public office. In 2006 the State of Delaware House of Representatives honored the couple with a tribute on the occasion of their receiving the Astra Zeneca Lifetime Achievement Award.

Series XI, Delawareana and realia, comprises memorabilia received by the Wolfs. Many of the items, including buttons and pins from organizations, items commemorating particular events, and objects related to the state of Delaware, were given to Wolf in the course of his public service.

Items from the collection appeared in the exhibition "Trail to the Voting Booth: An Exploration of Political Ephemera," lauched online September 2020, University of Delaware – Morris Library. The exhibition can be viewed online at https://exhibitions.lib.udel.edu/trail-to-the-voting-booth.